Healthy Aging Pioneer, James Fries, MD, Named as Keynote Speaker for 5th Annual Next-Generation Pharmacist Event

DURHAM, N.C. (March 17, 2014)--Parata Systems and Pharmacy Times, founding partners of the Next-Generation Pharmacist™ Awards, announced today that James F. Fries, MD, has been selected as the keynote speaker for the 5^th annual recognition event. Dr. Fries is a professor of medicine, immunology, and rheumatology at Stanford University School of Medicine. As a nationally known and respected expert on long-term patient outcomes, Fries has authored more than 300 articles, numerous book chapters and 11 books, including Take Care of Yourself and Living Well.

“The pharmacist is ideally placed to effectively address behavior and lifestyle issues that can contribute directly to improved health outcomes,” said Fries. “Physicians agree on the importance of these conversations, but they rarely have time to seriously intervene.”

Fries is perhaps best known for his “compression of morbidity” hypothesis which holds that the burden of lifetime illness may be compressed into a shorter period before the time of death, if the age at the onset of the first chronic illness can be postponed. And that, Fries notes, is the underpinning of today’s value-driven health care system—better outcomes for patients and lower health care costs. Both he says can be achieved by reducing the length of time that patients are morbidly sick before the end of their lives.

“We are honored to have Dr. Fries speak at this year’s Next-Generation Pharmacist event. He brings an extraordinary level of expertise and perspective on the multifaceted challenges that all patients face,” said Ashley Talamo, Publisher, Pharmacy Times. “This is a great opportunity for pharmacists to hear from a nationally renowned expert and to consider the evolving role they will play in addressing those challenges.”

Fries’ leading public health insights touch on both challenges and opportunities for pharmacists as their role in patient health care evolves. “We welcome Dr. Fries to an important dialogue as we recognize the industry’s most innovative pharmacists at the 2014 Next-Generation Pharmacist event,” says Tom Rhoads, CEO, Parata Systems.

“Like others, the Next-Generation Pharmacist community is focused on a health care system that’s shifting from volume to value-driven care,” Rhoads added. “When we identify the ‘near-sick’ and work to push out by another year or two the time that individuals are very sick — lives are improved and health care costs are avoided.”

Now in its fifth year, the Next-Generation Pharmacist Awards program—the industry’s leading national awards program—will be held at Boston’s Fairmont Copley Square hotel on Sunday, August 24, 2014, concurrent with the National Association of Chain Drug Stores’ Total Store Expo.

Established through a partnership of Parata Systems and Pharmacy Times, the Next-Generation Pharmacist program features 10 award categories recognizing and honoring pharmacists, technicians, student pharmacists, and industry advocates who are defining the future of the industry.

Nominations for the Next-Generation Pharmacist Awards are currently open and may be submitted through April 14, 2014. Information and online nominations can be found at www.nextgenerationpharmacist.com and www.PharmacyTimes.com. Sponsorship opportunities are also available and can be found at http://nextgenerationpharmacist.com/sponsors/. For regular updates, follow Next-Generation Pharmacist on Twitter and Facebook.

About Parata Systems, LLC

Parata provides technology solutions to support coordinated care, better health outcomes, and lower medical costs, empowering pharmacists to grow their businesses. Founded in 2001, the Durham-based company is a brand trusted by more than 12,000 pharmacies and a growing number of global health care professionals serving diverse patient populations. Through Parata, pharmacists can leverage a combination of high-tech tools and workflow to free time to counsel patients, identify and avoid medication interactions, encourage adherence, and more. We have filled more than 2.5 billion prescriptions, helping pharmacists avoid an estimated 15 million medication errors. For more information, visit www.parata.com, or contact info@parata.com, 888-PARATA1 (727-2821), Facebook or Twitter.

About Pharmacy Times

Pharmacy Times is the industry’s leading publication, providing practical, clinical information pharmacists can use in their everyday practices when counseling patients and interacting with physicians. Each issue contains articles and features covering medication errors, drug interactions, patient education, pharmacy technology, disease state management, patient counseling, product news, pharmacy law, and specialty pharmacy. The Pharmacy Times Office of Continuing Professional Education (CPE) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. Learn more at www.PharmacyTimes.com, or write to info@pharmacytimes.com, call 609-716-7777, or visit us on Facebook at Facebook.com/PharmacyTimes or on Twitter @Pharmacy_Times. Pharmacy Times is published by Michael J. Hennessy Associates, Inc., a leading provider of health care publishing, research, information, and education.

Next-Generation Pharmacist^TM is a trademark of Parata Systems, LLC.

Contacts

Crossroads PR & Marketing (on behalf of Parata)

Shawn Ramsey, 919-821-2822

parata@crossroadsprm.com

or

Pharmacy Times

Bea Riemschneider, Vice President/Group Editorial Director

(609) 716-7777, ext. 214

briemschneider@pharmacytimes.com